Rising Anti-Semitism and Institutional Hypocrisy Threaten Jewish Life in Belgium
Testimonies from four prominent figures reveal a sharp rise in anti-Semitism across Belgium since October 7, 2023, marked by institutional hypocrisy, physical assaults, and the silence of human rights groups.
The Jewish community in Belgium has faced a disturbing and threatening metamorphosis since October 7, 2023. What was once a peaceful and well-integrated European existence has devolved into a reality where fear, institutional hypocrisy, and the normalization of hatred threaten foundational democratic values. Testimonies from four prominent figures in Belgium—a public school teacher, a medical assistant from Antwerp, an anti-Semitism activist, and a veteran senator—paint a grim picture of a country where anti-Semitism has emerged from the shadows.
In Brussels public schools, Chaya Nicholas, a 46-year-old Jewish education teacher, has experienced a double standard that legitimizes open hostility. Colleagues wear keffiyehs and openly criticize Israel, while Nicholas was officially threatened with dismissal for refusing to remove a personal Facebook photo of her land in Israel, deemed insufficiently neutral. Last year, Nicholas suffered a severe physical assault when a student struck her in the face with a shoe, damaging her cornea. School staff dismissed the incident as unintentional and failed to call for medical assistance.
In Antwerp, Avigdor Goldberg, a 44-year-old chief medical assistant, notes that the sense of security on the streets is an illusion. Despite military presence and bulletproof glass at synagogues, neighborhoods are flooded with anti-Israel posters and PLO flags. In 2025, Goldberg was deliberately struck by an electric bicycle rider outside a synagogue on Shabbat, leaving him with severe leg fractures and requiring complex surgeries.
Mytal Nehemiah, a 40-year-old political content creator tracking online anti-Semitism, reports a severe deterioration in government policy and public safety. Now avoiding speaking Hebrew in public streets, she notes that the streets are filled with graffiti, incitement stickers, and marches calling to globalize the intifada, while the government was slow to reinstate military guards at Jewish institutions.
Viviane Teitelbaum, a 71-year-old senator and secretary-general of the Jonathan Institute, highlights the moral betrayal of human rights and feminist organizations that remained silent or denied sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7. Teitelbaum emphasizes that the fight against anti-Semitism is the ultimate test of Belgian democracy.
